Architecture and Landscape in India

Architecture and landscape are connected on many levels in India. The meanings imbued in the architectural forms create diverse conceptual landscapes overlain on the same geographical area. Architecture defines the landscape, and the presence of different architectural traditions helps create these multiple landscapes. Architecture is used to highlight the landscape's association with the cosmos, with mythological events, with historical and current events, and is also the frame for where people live and work (Mack 2004). This essay will focus primarily, though not exclusively, on architecture built in the Hindu tradition.

The connection between the earthly landscape and the celestial landscape has been apparent in India for thousands of years. There is evidence at Dholavira and other Harappan sites that the cities were planned with axial orientations, apparently following the placement of sky based features (Bisht 2000). Celestial orientations become more apparent in cities and towns...